Neighbors pave the way for new roads

KELSEYVILLE -- The grassroots efforts of one group of neighbors have paved the way for new roads in Clear Lake Riviera.

Bob Lang spearheaded the project in June 2011. A resident of the Rivieras since 2000, Lang was no longer content with the potholes and overall poor roads in the area of Tenaya Way and Chippewa Trail. So he went around his neighborhood and posted notes for a meeting at his home to discuss the issue.

Wednesday, more than a dozen neighbors, several of whom attended the first meeting, gathered at Lang's house for potluck barbecue and a celebration of their new roads.

"Everyone here came together to fix these damn rotten roads," Tom Nixon, a resident of Clear Lake Riviera, said.

Residents involved decided they wanted to keep the scope of the road improvement project small enough for change to happen and limited it to a 3.5-mile stretch with about 360 parcels, Nixon said.

The group mobilized. They assigned street captains and Nixon served as the county liaison. They met every few weeks to send out mailers, went door-to-door and created a website dedicated to the project, he said.

"I think it's a great formula and blueprint," Nixon said for neighborhoods in similar situations. "It started with one person's initiative and neighbors working together."

Lake County Supervisor Rob Brown, whose district includes the subdivision, also attended the first meeting and played a crucial role in the process, Nixon said.

With his help, county supervisors waived the petition that required 66 percent of homeowners in the area to sign before the project could be put to a vote.

During last summer's elections, homeowners voted, and the project passed by three votes.

Last October, Lake County supervisors approved the formation of a road benefit zone for the Chippewa Trail county service area (CSA).

Brown was also able to find county funds to form a partnership with the property owners, Nixon said. Group members decide they wanted to keep their property tax increase from road pavement costs at less than $200 per year per parcel.

Through the partnership, the county will pay 42 percent of the cost, which will be spread out through a 7-year time period, with property owners paying about $170 per year.

Now that the new roads are completed, Lang calls the area "the cherry of the Clear Lake Rivieras."

Nixon presented him with a plaque of appreciation at Wednesday's barbecue, and made plaques for the county public works department and Brown as well.

Neighbors ate, celebrated and reminisced about potholes that were once scattered around their streets.

One woman said through the process they've also created a "real" neighborhood where she knows the people who live around her and asked if they could have another potluck just for fun.

Berenice Quirino is the assistant editor for Lake County Publishing. She can be reached at 263-5636, ext. 42 or at bereniceq@record-bee.com.